Final Thoughts on Charlotte Hornets’ Preseason Finale

As the preseason ends, the Charlotte Hornets will look to start the regular season strong.

The Charlotte Hornets fell to the Orlando Magic in their final preseason game, dropping their overall preseason record to a lowly 1-3. While this is concerning, there were a lot of bright spots that should encourage Charlotte fans.

One thing to get excited about was the fight the team showed in the second half of the game. The Hornets got down big early in the game, and would eventually be down as much as 20 points, but the team continued to claw back and even gained the lead in the fourth quarter before Magic’s Cole Anthony floated one in, to go up 118 to 117 late in the fourth.

While this was heartbreaking to watch it should be noted that Coach Borrego subbed in the backups with over a minute and a half left in the game. It should also be noted that of the five players substituted in, four of them are no longer on the team, being waived by the Hornets following the loss. Via the Charlotte Hornets’ website, the four waived players are Keandre Cook, Javin DeLaurier, Xavier Sneed, and Kahlil Whitney.

If the starting five would have finished the game, it probably would have been a completely different ending to an exciting game. But this is the preseason and while the ultimate goal is to win every game, the coaches needed to see what they have to work with before the start of the regular season.

Another thing to be excited about if you’re a Charlotte fan is that for the fourth game in a row LaMelo Ball’s passing has been as pure as Mother Mary. Don’t believe it? Check out this no-look pass to Malik Monk.

https://twitter.com/hornets/status/1340486057624821762

While Ball did have another great game when it comes to passing, he lacked in the scoring department, scoring only 4 points in 24 minutes of play. He’s still getting used to the NBA so scoring inconsistently can be expected.

The Hornets once again relied on the hot hands of Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier III, with Graham scoring 25 points in 31 minutes of play and Rozier scoring 24 points in 27 minutes. This is a very good sign for Charlotte fans. In every game of the preseason, these two have carried the team on their backs, as they should. They are the leaders of this team and throughout the preseason, they have shown their teammates and the rest of the league that this is their team!

With the preseason over the Hornets will look to build off of their successes and try to patch up some of their mistakes and miscues. On a positive note, it looks as though there have been more successes than miscues. Bring on Cleveland!